Race against time for final Vulcan flight

Darren Burke

The world’s last flying Vulcan bomber is facing a race against time to take to the skies for its final flight.

Owners Vulcan To the Sky Trust have revealed that the final voyage must take place before October 30 - leaving just over a week for the iconic aircraft to take off from its home at Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport.

A spokesman said: “We remain in discussions with the Robin Hood Airport management and the police on whether a final flight can be scheduled, given concerns about crowds around the airport.

“Any final flight will need to be before Friday 30th October, because after then, certain components on the aircraft will have exhausted their cleared calendar life, and so the aircraft will no longer be airworthy prior to overhaul of those components.

“Given all the constraints, any final flight will need to be carefully co-ordinated with the full support of our neighbours, with above all else, public safety firmly in mind.”

There were fears earlier ‘farewell’ flights would have to be axed over concerns of huge crowds descending on the airport to see XH558 in action.

The spokemsan added: “We are determined that as many people as possible have the chance to view any final flight and landing by live streaming over the internet and by recording it, both with high quality still photography and in the very latest 4K video.”

Bosses have reassured fans that the final flight will be streamed live over the internet.

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